The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Rachaad White.
Is Rachaad White Playing in Week 15?
White is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Buccaneers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Rachaad White in Week 15?
White has had an up-and-down season, but with Bucky Irving battling a back injury, he could see his role peak at the perfect time.
White has eight touchdowns over his past seven games, and he’s even showcased some rushing upside in the first two games this month (28 carries for 166 yards, highlighted by a disrespectful stiff arm last week).
I’m not sure that level of efficiency on the ground is here to stay, especially against the seventh-best rush defense by success rate, but if the volume looks anything like last week (17 carries), there is RB1 potential here.
Based on early reporting out of Tampa, I’m comfortable in projecting White to lead this backfield in carries, regardless of whether Irving plays or not. It’s not an ideal matchup, but if we are talking 15+ carries alongside his consistent efficiency in the passing game (89.1% catch rate this season), it’ll be close to impossible to justify benching White this week with your season on the line.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 15 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Points Outlook in Week 15
As of Sunday morning, White is projected to score 12.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 10.5 rushing attempts for 39.2 yards and 0.2 touchdowns. It also includes 3.4 receptions for 26.2 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Panthers' Defense
Young's improvement has given hope to a franchise mired in a streak of six straight double-digit loss seasons. Panthers fans deserve to cling to any shred of hope they can find, but Sunday's win was a reminder that Young and the offense will need more support from the defense before Carolina can ever become a contender again.
The win over the Cardinals was mostly offense-driven, as the Panthers recorded a 70.5 (C-) grade on defense. That was actually Carolina's sixth-best performance of the season, yet still didn't crack the top 20 for Week 16.
Carolina's highest grade of the season is a C+. This has been by far its worst season in the last six years, grading as an F and considerably below what they did in 2023.
The Panthers are even worse than the Jaguars in that they don't rank in the top 20 in any statistical category that goes into Defense+. They rank last in EPA per rush (-0.07), third downs (47.7%), and pressure rate without blitzing (24.3%).
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:25 AM ET on Sunday, December 29. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. DAL)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at SF)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (at HOU)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at WAS)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (at MIN)
6) Jonathan Taylor | IND (at NYG)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. DEN)
8) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. ARI)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at CLE)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. CAR)
11) James Conner | ARI (at LAR)
12) James Cook | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Tyjae Spears | TEN (at JAX)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at BUF)
15) Joe Mixon | HOU (vs. BAL)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at CHI)
17) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. GB)
18) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. MIA)
19) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
20) D'Andre Swift | CHI (vs. SEA)
21) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at PHI)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. IND)
23) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. DET)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. LAC)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. CAR)
26) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at NE)
27) Alexander Mattison | LV (at NO)
28) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at PIT)
30) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at NE)
31) Tank Bigsby | JAX (vs. TEN)
32) Javonte Williams | DEN (at CIN)
33) Kendre Miller | NO (vs. LV)
34) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. KC)
35) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
36) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at NO)
37) Kareem Hunt | KC (at PIT)
38) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. IND)
39) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at WAS)
40) Audric Estimé | DEN (at CIN)
41) Ray Davis | BUF (vs. NYJ)
42) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at CLE)
43) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. LAC)
44) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. DAL)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (at SF)
46) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. ARI)
49) Roschon Johnson | CHI (vs. SEA)
50) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at BUF)
51) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. DET)
52) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (vs. ATL)
53) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at BUF)
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (at CIN)
55) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (vs. MIA)
56) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. LV)
57) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. KC)
58) Emanuel Wilson | GB (at MIN)
59) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (at LAR)
60) Chris Brooks | GB (at MIN)
61) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (vs. MIA)
62) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (vs. DET)
63) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at HOU)
64) Trey Benson | ARI (at LAR)
65) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at TB)
66) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. CAR)
67) Israel Abanikanda | SF (vs. DET)
68) Michael Carter | ARI (at LAR)
69) Samaje Perine | KC (at PIT)
70) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (at PHI)
71) Mike Boone | CAR (at TB)
72) Khalil Herbert | CIN (vs. DEN)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (vs. BAL)
74) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at CLE)
75) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. DET)
76) Trey Sermon | IND (at NYG)
77) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
78) Sione Vaki | DET (at SF)
79) Hunter Luepke | DAL (at PHI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (vs. BAL)
81) Alec Ingold | MIA (at CLE)
82) Tyler Goodson | IND (at NYG)
83) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at NE)
84) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at CHI)
85) Jordan Mims | NO (vs. LV)
86) Rasheen Ali | BAL (at HOU)
87) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. GB)
88) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. GB)
89) Michael Burton | DEN (at CIN)
90) Julius Chestnut | TEN (at JAX)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. IND)
92) Dylan Laube | LV (at NO)
93) Adam Prentice | NO (vs. LV)
94) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at HOU)
95) Carson Steele | KC (at PIT)
96) Keilan Robinson | JAX (vs. TEN)
97) Darrynton Evans | BUF (vs. NYJ)
98) Blake Watson | DEN (at CIN)
99) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at PIT)
Panthers at Buccaneers Trends and Insights
Carolina Panthers
Team: The Panthers have won a game that wasn’t decided in overtime or by less than a field goal once since the beginning of last season (Week 3 at Raiders: 36-22).
QB: Splash plays? Bryce Young has a 30+ yard completion in four of his past five games and a 10+ yard rush in five of his past six.
Offense: The Panthers have turned 13 of their past 14 goal-to-go situations into touchdowns.
Defense: Sunday was the seventh time this season in which the Panthers allowed points on the majority of opponent drives.
Fantasy: Adam Thielen has caught 5+ passes in all four games this month and has scored in three of his past six, but he has just two games this season with 60+ receiving yards.
Betting: The Panthers are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 road games. Carolina covered in Philadelphia in Week 14 – they haven’t covered consecutive road games since Weeks 11-14 in 2022.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team: The Buccaneers are 4-3 since Week 9 with a +53 point differential. Over that stretch, the Chiefs are 7-1 with a +28 point differential, the Rams are 6-2 with a +12 point differential, and the Steelers hold an identical 4-3 mark while being outscored by 14 points.
QB: Baker Mayfield’s touchdown pass under pressure on Sunday night was his first since his TD pass in Week 1 against the Commanders.
Offense: Odd but true – the Bucs are just 1-3 this season when scoring a touchdown on 100% of their red zone trips and 7-4 otherwise.
Defense: From Weeks 8-12, Tampa Bay allowed their opponents to convert 53.8% of third downs. Since then, that rate has plummeted to 30%
Fantasy: Jalen McMillan has three straight games with at least four catches and a touchdown reception – over the past 20 years, only three rookies have topped that streak (Odell Beckham Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tank Dell).
Betting: The Buccaneers are just 1-6 ATS in their past seven home divisional games (the lone cover, however, was in Week 17 of 2022 against the Panthers).